SUSPECTED CHOLERA OUTBREAK KILLS FIVE PEOPLE IN THE CAPITAL

HARARE – At least FIVE people have been confirmed dead following a suspected cholera outbreak in TWO suburbs of the ZIMBABWEAN capital.

Children in poor high density areas are the most exposed (Pic. red Sky News)

THE HERALD says the disease has invaded CLENVIEW-THREE and BUDIRIRO high-density areas in the last TWO days, when it infected another 36 people.

It says the health authorities have admitted the suspected cases, 11 of them confirmed as cholera, to the BEATRICE Infectious Diseases Hospital in the HARARE township of MBARE.

An earlier report in the SUNDAY MAIL says the country experienced the deadliest cholera epidemic between AUGUST 2008 and JUNE 2009, when ONE-THOUSAND people from 98-THOUSAND recorded cases died.

It says the deadly disease started in the dormitory town of CHITUNGWIZA and spread across the country at a record speed, before causing havoc beyond the national borders.

The State-owned weekly says cholera killed FIVE people in APRIL in CHEGUTU Town, just outside the capital, but the Ministry of Health managed to contain the ailment.

The latest outbreak report comes amid reports saying HARARE water is not suitable for human consumption, which spells doom for families without easy access to boreholes and other protected sources.

Medical experts say the situation of poor water and sanitation facilities is rendering HARARE and CHITUNGWIZA fertile breeding grounds for the bacteria that causes cholera.

They say the infectious disease causes severe watery diarrhoea that can lead to dehydration, and even death if untreated, yet the World Health Organisation reports at least 150-THOUSAND cases each year.

UNICEF says cholera is a preventable disease that is often regarded as a barometer of inadequate access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

It says deaths due to severe illness and dehydration are not necessary, regrettable and people should considered it unacceptable.

Simple home remedies like Salt and Sugar Solution or the now widely available Oral Rehydration Salts can prevent the progression of the disease from mild to severe and to death.

The world body says the ZIMBABWE Integrated Diseases Surveillance and Response Technical guidelines list cholera among the diseases that must be reported on a daily basis during epidemics./Sabanews/cam